31 Gorgeous Female Athletes Who Have Appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

The 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hit newsstands on Monday, and if you happened to pick it up you might have noticed that UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and tennis player Caroline Wozniacki grace it’s glossy pages. So today, in honor of Rousey and Wozniacki, we give you this list of all the female athletes who have appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue over the years.

Now, I should probably point out that by “all” I don’t literally mean every single one. I would never be so bold as to claim the list of totally comprehensive. In fact, I’m sure I probably missed somebody. What I mean, then, is every single one I could find. And I looked hard. So the list if pretty solid, if I do say so myself.

But enough talk. Just take a look at the list, and if I missed any let me know.

We'll be going chronologically through this list, so up first we have Steffi Graf, the greatest female tennis player of all time. She took a break from winning tennis tournaments to pose for the SI Swimsuit Issue in 1997.
Check out the spread HERE.

Steffi Graf (1997)

Gabrielle Reece, the first beach volleyball player anybody had ever heard of, was also in the 1997 SI Swimsuit Issue. Though, unlike Steffi Graf, she didn't even have to change out of her work clothes.
Reece made a second appearance in the 2000 issue, alongside her pro surfer husband Laird Hamilton.
Check out the spread HERE.

Gabrielle Reece (1997, 2000)

Nikki McCray and the next athlete on our list share the honor of being the first WNBA players to be featured in the pages of the SI Swimsuit Issue.
Unfortunately, there are no larger galleries to link to. They didn't exactly get "spreads."

Nikki McCray (1999)

These days Sheryl Swoopes makes her living coaching the women's basketball team at Loyola University Chicago. Back in the day, she was one of the first real stars of women's basketball.

Sheryl Swoopes (1999)

Anna Kournikova was the most famous woman on the internet back in the late 90s, when everybody was using Lycos to look for stuff. In 2004, the most famous tennis player never to win a singles tournament finally appeared in the pages of the SI Swimsuit Issue.
Check out the spread HERE.

Anna Kournikova (2004)

When Kanye's psychic told him The One "would have a [behind] like Serena," his psychic had probably just finished looking at Serena's spread in the 2004 Swimsuit Issue.
Check out the spread HERE.

Serena Williams (2003, 2004)

Venus hit the tennis scene before Serena. But when it came to modelling in the SI Swimsuit Issue, it was Venus following in her little sister's footsteps.
Check out the spread HERE.

Venus Williams (2005)

Technically Sheryl Swoops and Nikky McCray were the first WNBA starts to appear in the Swimsuit Issue. However, they only appeared in single shots, and there are no SI galleries for them. The first WNBA player to get an actual spread in the Swimsuit Issue was Australia's Lauren Jackson in 2005.
Check out the spread HERE.

Lauren Jackson (2005)

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Amanda Beard appeared nude in Playboy in 2007. Her shoot for SI in 2005 was nothin'.
Check out the spread HERE.

Amanda Beard (2005)

The only softball player you've ever heard of, pitcher Jennie Finch, made the Swimsuit Issue in 2005, just six months after winning gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Check out the spread HERE.

Jennie Finch (2005)

When Maria Sharapova first burst onto the scene, people compared her to Anna Kournikova because she is hot, blonde, and Russian.
Then she started winning Grand Slam titles, and everyone was like, oh, nevermind.
Check out the spread HERE.

Maria Sharapova (2006)

Danica Patrick is a respectable race car driver. But let's not kid ourselves, she wouldn't be so famous if she wasn't (a) hot and (b) willing let people take pictures of her in a bikini.
Check out the spread HERE.

Danica Patrick (2008)

Hey, remember when tennis player Maria Kirilenko was engaged to Alex Ovechkin? That was weird.
Check out the spread HERE.

Maria Kirilenko (2009)

Slovakian tennis player Daniela Hantuchova is a little past her tennis prime, but she's definitely still in her bikini prime.
Check out the spread HERE.

Daniela Hantuchova (2009)

Russian-born French tennis player Tatiana Golovin never made it past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam, but she was pretty popular with French fans nonetheless. Go figure.
Check out the spread HERE.

Tatiana Golovin (2009)

Freestyle skier Lacy Schnoor was one of four female alpine Olympians to appear in the 2010 Swimsuit Issue, which came out right as the 2010 Vancouver Games were opening.
Check out the spread HERE.

Lacy Schnoor (2010)

Also appearing in that 2010 Olympic spread was 2006 snowboard halfpipe gold medalist Hannah Teter. Unfortunately she did not repeat as champion in 2010, but she did take silver.
Check out the spread HERE.

Hannah Teter (2010)

Clair Bidez seemed was perfect for the 2010 Olympic spread. She's a snowboarder, and she's hot.
Unfortunately, what Clair Bidez was not was an Olympian. After shooting for the 2010 Swimsuit Issue, she just missed qualifying for the 2010 Winter Games.
Bummer.
Check out the spread HERE.

Clair Bidez (2010)

Lindsey Vonn, greatest female skier of all time, did not miss the 2010 Winter Games. She wound up taking gold. And her pictures in the Swimsuit Issue were fantastic.
Check out the spread HERE.

Lindsey Vonn (2010)

Ana Ivanovic, hottest Grand Slam champion of all time, was obviously not in the 2010 Winter Olympics. But SI put her in the 2010 Swimsuit Issue anyway.
Check out the spread HERE.

Ana Ivanovic (2010)

In 2011, the SI Swimsuit Issue was already looking forward to the 2012 London Summer Games. First up we have American volleyball player Kim Glass.
Check out the spread HERE.

Kim Glass (2011)

The other 2012 Summer Olympic featured in the 2011 Swimsuit Issue was Paraguayan javelin thrower (and famous hot person) Leryn Franco.
Check out the spread HERE.

Leryn Franco (2011)

LPGA golfer Natalie Gulbis appeared in the 2012 Swimsuit Issue, but she wasn't actually wearing a swimsuit. Gulbis, Alex Morgan, and the next woman on the list all sported painted bikinis.
Check out the spread HERE.

Natalie Gulbis (2012)

Natalie Coughlin won 12 Olympic medals—3 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze.
All that swimming sculpted one hell of a body.
Check out the spread HERE.

Natalie Coughlin (2012)

Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke became an internet sensation after a video of her sexy warmup dance went viral. In 2013, her jiggly dance took her all the way to the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
See the spread HERE.

Michelle Jenneke (2013)

When SI signed pro surfer Alana Blanchard up for the Swimsuit Issue, one thing they did not have to worry about was her being uncomfortable posting in a bikini.
Check out the spread HERE.

Alana Blanchard (2013)

We've already established that Skylar Diggins was not the first WNBA player to appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue. However, her spread was definitely the best.
Check out the spread HERE.

Skylar Diggins (2014)

Alex Morgan's first appearance in the SI Swimsuit Issue came in a painted on bikini in 2012. In 2014, however, she got her very own spread.
Check out the spread HERE.

Alex Morgan (2014)

After that compilation video of Anastasia Ashley twerking on the beach before a competition went viral in late 2013, SI pretty much had to put her in their 2014 Swimsuit Issue.
Check out the spread HERE.

Anastasia Ashley (2014)

Caroline Wozniacki had a rough start to 2014 after her fiancé, Rory McIlroy, broke up with her over the phone. However, she finished strong, reaching the finals at the US Open against BFF Serena Williams. Now she's got a gorgeous spread in the SI Swimsuit Issue.
I'd say she's back on top of the world.
Check out the spread HERE.

Caroline Wozniacki (2015)

Joining Caroline Wozniacki in the pages of the Swimsuit Issue this year is UFC champion Ronda Rousey. If there's anyone on this list you don't want to piss off, it's her. Because she could beat you up.
Check out the spread HERE.